5 Daily Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read: Low Budget Special Effects, New Digital Releases and More

1. "The Crash Reel:" "The Crash Reel" BitTorrent Bundle has been downloaded 3.4 million times, BitTorrent announced today. The Bundle supports "The Crash Reel," Lucy Walker's documentary about champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his incredible recovery from a severe brain injury. Read more about BitTorrent's Bundles here.

2. Low-Budget Effects: Sure, the special effects in "Gravity" are incredible, but not exactly
feasible for an indie filmmaker to adopt. That's where Joey Shanks comes
in. The self-taught filmmaker, who produces a weekly series for PBS
Digital Series about DIY special effects for low-budget productions,
highlights the illusion of space flight in his latest video. Check it out here.

3. "Karama Has No Walls:"Yemen's first Oscar-nominated film, "Karama Has No Walls," a gripping-eyewitness account to a tragic day that changed the course of the revolution in Yemen, will be released on iTunes on February 18, 2014. Released by Cinema Guild, the film has been nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject.

4. "Homegoings:" Also getting a digital release on February 18, 2014 is "Homegoings," filmmaker Christine Turner's
debut feature documentary that honors the traditions of
African-American funerals through a moving portrait of a man and a
people. The film will be available for digital rental via Vimeo on Demand beginning Feb. 18, 2014, and is available for pre-order now at www.homegoings.com. See the trailer here.

5. Stream Them Now: Looking forward to the upcoming 2014 Academy Awards? Leading up to the big event, we've compiled a
list of 18 Best Foreign Language Oscar Winners you can stream online now. Check it out here.